#21 in the series…

Warning…Political Rant Coming

Ok, if this trend continues, we are going to have to suspect divine intervention in the AG firings. How else can we explain the “fact” that no one had any input on which AGs were fired? Seems from all of the testimony so far that no one at the Justice Department placed them on the list, no one (?) at the White House placed them on the list, seems to be pretty straight forward then…They just appeared, you know like the writing on the wall in “The Ten Commandments”.

A former White House political director, Sara Taylor, told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday that she believed President Bush was not involved in last year’s dismissal of federal prosecutors.

I know that’s what the White House keeps saying about most of their policy decisions, but come on guys, let’s get real for a few minutes in this eight year fantasy. Somebody made a list, somebody had a reason they put these AGs on the list, and everyone has been spinning to high heaven to keep that somebody hidden. It’s way past time to come into the light.

I hate it when I find myself even sort of agreeing with George Will. Even when we agree it’s usually for different reasons. But when it comes to the Farm Bill, it appears we are somewhat in agreement. I’ll quote his quoting of the figures because they pretty much say it all…

Fifty-seven percent of farms receive no payments and two-thirds of those that do receive less than $10,000. The largest 8 percent of farms receive 58 percent of the payments. Farms with revenue of $250,000 or more receive payments averaging $70,000. Lugar wants to redirect the flow of federal funds from subsidizing favored crops to rural development, because fewer than 14 percent of residents in rural areas work on farms.
Under the continuing New Deal approach, five commodities — corn, soybeans, cotton, rice and wheat — got about 90 percent of last year’s $19 billion in subsidies. This is a perverse incentive for overproduction of the five, which depresses prices, which triggers federal supports.

Personally, I don’t have George’s immense dislike of the New Deal…But then again I’m a southern progressive by nature. His happiness with risk management accounts sounds a lot like the health savings accounts that that other George keeps pushing…But I find myself agreeing with this statement…

Agriculture policy — another manifestation of the welfare state, another contributor to another faction’s entitlement mentality — involves a perennial conundrum of welfare, corporate as well as individual: How do you break an addiction to government without breaking the addicted?

For all of you youngsters out there take time today and visit the life of a great lady…Lady Bird Johnson. I am not going to try to list what she managed to accomplish in her 94 years, there will be plenty places that is being done today. I just ask that you take a few minutes and reflect on what we owe her persistence. A lot of what we view as the conservation movement sprang up around her in the ’60’s. Go read a newspaper today (even online).